Tofu, Corn & Snap Pea Burritos

I'm really excited about this burrito post.

Sure, I've made some other burritos before with other delicious ( and some similar) ingrediences (Tofu, Black Bean & Corn and Grilled Shrimp and Zucchini). Sure, they were equally exciting to eat and share.

But oy. I'm really excited about this post, because it shows me how far my photo skills have come since I started out to conquer this blogging hobby. Well, either my skills have gotten better or my camera has gotten better. You decide. (Camera)

But I finally feel like my photos are starting to really capture freshness and color and detail. Those elements are really important to me. After taste of course! I love fresh food with lots of color and I love being able to share that.

These burritos have the perfect amount of crunch. I really hate a soggy or mushy burrito. I never really understood restaurants that cover them in sauce (I mean.. maybe it's tradition or maybe it makes some people happy) or why all burritos don't include lettuce. I need something crisp. I gots teeth and I wanna use them before it's too late and I'm eating mashed peas 5 nights a week.

Ew mashed peas. Shudder.

Soundtrack:


Tofu, Corn & Snap Pea Burritos
Serves 4-5


1 1/2 packages of extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed (I used 1 1/2 because I reserved 1/2 a block for use in salads. You could certainly use both or just 1.)
EVOO
1 c snap peas, cleaned, trimmed and halved
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chipotle seasoning
1 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp agave syrup
1 c corn, either fresh from the cob or canned
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
salt & pepper
4-5 tortillas
1/2 radishes, julienned (to garnish)
romaine lettuce, chopped (to garnish)


Before beginning, be sure to press tofu for 20 minutes. Cube and set aside.


Heat 1 tbsp of EVOO in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions, red pepper and snap peas. Season with salt and pepper and sautee for 3-4 minutes, or until onions just begin to soften. Remove from the skillet to a bowl and set aside.


Drizzle a bit more EVOO into the skillet. Add tofu to the skillet. Cook over medium low heat for a minute, chopping with the side of your stirring utensil until the tofu is broken down into small pieces. Add vinegar, cumin, chipotle, and agave. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes. Add corn and cook another 2 minutes.


Remove from heat, stir in onion, pepper and snap pea mixture. Add cilantro and stir to combine. 


Serve in tortillas, garnished with radishes and lettuce.

Grilled Shrimp Burritos with Zucchini and Sweet Potato

First, let me just clear the air here. I know you're disappointed by the subject of this post and I know who you are. But I promise, the dark chocolate peanut butter bacon truffles are coming soon. I'm tweaking it to turn up the bacon and turn down the peanut butter. And in the meantime, I'm just trying to entertain taste buds and keep things healthy. Because if I talk about how much I ate last weekend one more time everyone that reads this has the right to block me forever. Oh no, I just did. Ok, starting now.

Can I have a bite please?

This week flew by for me. I'm not really sure why that is, considering I never fully recovered from last weekend (ps I didn't mention food) and I've had a really rough time of getting up every morning, but I'll take it! Tomorrow is Friday. And this brings up some philosophical questions for me. Like, will the memory of Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon performing together Rebecca Black's "Friday" ever NOT be the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the final day of the work week? Is it too early in the year to buy a case of Pumking this weekend? Do dogs find weekends confusing? How many hours will Adam spend playing FIFA this Saturday? And many others. I'm deep. In the words of a wise old (just kidding) man, "about as deep as a shot glass." (Dear Jess, yes, I stole that from your dad.)


Most importantly, however, is the age-old question, "What's for dinner?". And no, it's not beef. Ok, sometimes it's beef. But not this time!


Delicious. Healthy. Spicy. Sweet. Easy. Fast. These tacos. PS Adam created the seasoning for the shrimp. He asks that we call him "Skrimp Masta Flex".


Soundtrack: One more (nu?)disco dance party, in honor of the new Magic Tape (14!) ala the Magician, and then we will move on (and I will share my truffle recipe). I swear.

Magic Tape Fourteen by TheMagician

Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Zucchini and Sweet Potato
Serves 2-3


1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (ew!)
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into large cubes
1 zucchini, chopped
1 can black beans
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp chili powder, divided
1 tsp chipotle seasoning, divided
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp Old Bay
1 tsp garlic powder, divided
1/2 tsp paprika
1 lime
salt & pepper
flour tortillas
pineapple salsa (This is important. I use Wegmans, I'm obsessed)
EVOO


Boil a small pot of water. Add the pieces of sweet potato and par-boil for 2-3 minutes, until just softened. Drain, chop potato to smaller pieces and set aside.


Heat grill and skewer shrimp. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 tsp chipotle, 1/2 tsp Chile power, 1/4 tsp garlic powder,1/2 tsp Old Bay, and a dusting of salt & pepper. Sprinkle the shrimp with this seasoning mix and juice from 1/2 the lime. Grill the shrimp for about 3 min on each side until done. After cooking, squeeze the other 1/2 of the lime over the shrimp, chop coarsely, cover and set aside. (Or have a Sue grill the shrimp, while you move on to the next step!) 


In a saute pan, heat a drizzle of EVOO over medium heat. Add zucchini and sweet potato. Season with thyme, 1/2 tsp chile powder, 1/2 tsp coriander, and 1/2 tsp ground cumin. Saute until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes.


Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan (I rinsed the same one from the potato for less dishes) heat the beans over medium heat. Season with paprika and 1/2 tsp garlic powder (And a big thank you to Pepperjack's).


While beans are heating, (yea this is a lot of action at once, it's ok, you can do it!) warm the tortillas according to package directions.


Assemble tacos using beans, zucchini, sweet potato, and shrimp. Top with pineapple salsa and enjoy!

Zucchini: it's so in season! Like white pants!

Check out Sue, sprinkling that seasoning!

Zucchini & Sweet Potato saute.. Ole!

You can just see the spices! Or just Jeremy's thumbs up
in the background... We're also reppen' the Wegs salsa!

Tofu, Black Bean & Corn Burritos

You know what's tricky?? Showing off a delicious burrito!

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome myself back from my mini-vacation, aka the good life. Oh hey reality, nice to see you again. You sorta suck. Not completely, but comparatively speaking you just can't hang. With your responsibility. And your schedules. I'm not getting any younger people! Reality, you're just sucking the life outta me here!


But let's just all calm down for a moment and focus on burritos. Because they can take away our lives, but they will never take our freedom.... to eat burritos.


Aaaaathankyou, aaaathankyou, aaaathankyou.


Let me admit here first that I rarely ever cook with tofu unless I'm throwing it in a stir fry. It's just one of those foods that is for some reason perplexing to me. I can't take it out of it's element without feeling slightly uncomfortable myself. It's the texture. I'm terrified of the texture (eee-aaa-eee-ooo). Something about this recipe works though. It's mush, but in all the right ways. Spicy, yet flavorful mush. With a slight crisp of corn and fresh lettuce.


Soundtrack: Four Tet (Saw this guy this weekend and it was fan-friggin-tastic)

Tofu, Black Bean & Corn Burritos
Serves: 3-4


1 clove garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into large strips
1 medium onion, wedged into eighths
splash of chicken stock (or vegetable!)
1 package extra-firm tofu, pressed for 20 minutes and cut into small pieces
1 c. sweet corn, cut from the cob (preferred!) or canned
1 c. black beans
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp chipotle seasoning
3 tbsp hot salsa
EVOO
Salt & Pepper
3-4 flour tortillas
cheddar cheese
romaine lettuce, chopped


Drizzle EVOO in a medium saute pan and heat over medium heat. Add garlic and toast until it begins to brown. Add onions and bell peppers, season with salt and pepper, and saute until cooked (about 7-10 minutes). Remove to a bowl and cover.


Splash chicken stock into the saute pan to wet the bottom. Add tofu, beans, and corn. Cook in stock for 1 minute. Season with coriander, chipotle, chili powder, salsa, and salt & pepper. Cook about another 5 minutes until heated throughout.


Meanwhile, heat tortillas in a fry pan until warmed. Into each tortilla, scoop a healthy amount of tofu, corn & beans. Top with sauteed onions and peppers, cheese and lettuce. Wrap into a burrito and serve!

Saute stuff!

Filling!

All wrapped up and ready to go!

Eek! My insides!

(Mine fell all apart... eyes to big for my tortilla)